Fort William is a town on Loch Linnhe on the west coast at the southern end of the Caledonian Canal in the shadow of Ben Nevis.

A town in Lochaber was first mooted by the Parliament of Scotland in 1597 but it wasn't until the time of Cromwell's Commonwealth that General Monk built a fortress here in 1654-55. Originally called Inverlochy 2000 troops were garrisoned here along with a number of workmen, servants, wives and children who settled in a village near to the fort. There numbers were gradually increased, according to the Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Locheil, 'by the accession of others in desperate circumstances, whom the hopes of gain, and the security of living safe from the prosecutions of their defrauded creditors, allured from all parts of the kingdom' and from among such 'needy desparadoes' the Governor had no difficulty recruiting spies.

After the Restoration General Mackay built a second fort which he called Fort William, after the King. The village which originally was called Gordonsburgh, having being built on land belonging to the Gordons was renamed Maryburgh, after the King's consort. Destroyed during the 1745 to make defending the Fort easier it was then rebuilt. When the Gordon estates were sold to Sir Duncan Cameron he attempted to change the name to Ducansburgh without success. Local people have always called it simply 'An Gearasdan' meaning The Fort and so it became known as Fort William.

In 1884 the War Office finally sold the Fort to Alexander Campbell of Monzie. In 1889 his wife was compelled by Act of Parliament to sell the Fort to make way for the planned West Highland Railway.

You can easily find other resources by selecting any combination of the following attributes:

Find more like this

Please select the attributes you wish to search for. Fields are empty where there is no data.

For guidance on the use of images and other content, please see the Terms and Conditions page.High Life Highland is a company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland No. SC407011 and is a registered Scottish charity No. SC042593

High Street, Fort William

INVERNESS: Kilmallie

Lochaber; streets; early colour photography

Michael Wells

An early coloured photograph of the High Street at Fort William. <br />
<br />
Fort William is a town on Loch Linnhe on the west coast at the southern end of the Caledonian Canal in the shadow of Ben Nevis.<br />
<br />
A town in Lochaber was first mooted by the Parliament of Scotland in 1597 but it wasn't until the time of Cromwell's Commonwealth that General Monk built a fortress here in 1654-55. Originally called Inverlochy 2000 troops were garrisoned here along with a number of workmen, servants, wives and children who settled in a village near to the fort. There numbers were gradually increased, according to the Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Locheil, 'by the accession of others in desperate circumstances, whom the hopes of gain, and the security of living safe from the prosecutions of their defrauded creditors, allured from all parts of the kingdom' and from among such 'needy desparadoes' the Governor had no difficulty recruiting spies.<br />
<br />
After the Restoration General Mackay built a second fort which he called Fort William, after the King. The village which originally was called Gordonsburgh, having being built on land belonging to the Gordons was renamed Maryburgh, after the King's consort. Destroyed during the 1745 to make defending the Fort easier it was then rebuilt. When the Gordon estates were sold to Sir Duncan Cameron he attempted to change the name to Ducansburgh without success. Local people have always called it simply 'An Gearasdan' meaning The Fort and so it became known as Fort William.<br />
<br />
In 1884 the War Office finally sold the Fort to Alexander Campbell of Monzie. In 1889 his wife was compelled by Act of Parliament to sell the Fort to make way for the planned West Highland Railway.